Great series, and great writing! Really enjoyable book by J K Kelly who is now a must read author! Really great and will recommend to others.

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.

I enjoyed this fast paced and entertaining game of chasing danger around the world. It felt like a James Bond movie all round.
I actually read the number 3 book in the series first, and I kinda knew what to expect from this one.
The main character is an interesting man, with a background that says a lot about the man itself.
It’s engaging and it takes us on a ride full of dangerous situations and adventure.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley

Had been looking forward to reading this book. Sadly it wasn’t for me. It just lacked a good plot to get you excited and wanting more. It was very slow paced and never picked up

I give this book about three stars it was a nice gentle read. It wasn’t amazing and I didn’t find myself waiting to keep reading or be able to pick it back up but it was good not a very intense thriller or anything but I would recommend it. I’d love to read something else from this author.

Wow wow wow fans who like Jack reacher type books must read this its epic. Normally it one case that takes the whole book to go through not this one. Its one after another nonstop action from the get go. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time. I read it in just over two days it was that good. The next book is out now so im moving onto that. Praise to the author for bringing use this amazing book. I cant wait to tell everyone about it.

This book starts with a brutal murder at the base camp of Mount Everest and the action doesn't stop until the very last page; the novel follows Matt Christopher an government 'fixer' who hops countries and cleans up messes.

The story was quite frantic and the amount of escapades that Matt finds himself in was almost exhausting but this was a really enjoyable read and I read the whole thing in nearly one sitting.

Thank you to the Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

Author J. K. Kelly (https://jkkelly.com/) published the novel “The Export” in 2021. This is the first novel in his “The Export” series. He has published six novels. I had the chance to interview the author in September of 2019. You can read that interview here.

I received a copy of this novel from the author in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains mature situations, mature language, and violence. The story spans the world. The primary character is FBI agent Matt Christopher.

Christopher is a good agent. One who seeks the truth. That cost him earlier in his career when he doggedly pursued the wrong people. People with deep government connections. As a result, he is now limited to operations outside the US. He has become an export. Christopher has assisted various US government agencies as well as those of allies. In short, he has become a ‘fixer’.

The story bounces around the world. Christopher gets involved in one deadly situation after another in his travels. He enters these challenges well prepared. He has training as an FBI agent. He had almost completed SEAL training before he was forced to transfer to the Army Rangers. He is ready for almost anything. At least that is what he thinks until his aunt, the US Director of National Intelligence, dies.

I enjoyed the 5.5+ hours I spent reading this 383-page thriller. The book reminds me of the original James Bond novels by Ian Fleming - thrillers with lots of action. The book is more of a collection of related short stories than a novel. The Christopher character moves from one thrilling and lethal situation to another. He is no stranger to violence and deals out at least as good as he receives. When pressed he is not above doling out justice himself. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a 3,8 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Matt Christopher is the "go-to" guy when the U.S. government needs to take care of indiscretions overseas. His secret assignments send him all over the world, including Mt. Everest, Russia and Wyoming. Along the way, Matt parties and drinks hard while enjoying all the luxuries his inherited wealth and work position allow. But can he really stay safe as he chases the bad guys? And can he trust the people who claim to be his closest friends?
There is plenty of action in this book. Prepare to rush from one kick-butt adventure to another. Matt is also bisexual, unless I read the innuendo wrong. And while at least one of the plotlines is predictable, the ending includes a twist I didn't see coming!
While full of fisticuffs, the flow of this story is often choppy and confusing with many words dedicated to Matt's plane hopping, which gets redundant. There's also a lot of drinking and partying, which led me to question how Matt can keep his muscles, skills and cardio ready for all the action.
Basically, "The Export" is a macho story that relies heavily on muscle. It could use some finesse to smooth out the rough edges and improve readability.

A highly-trained independent contractor for the US government, Matt Christopher, codenamed "The Export" is only allowed to operate outside the US. Born with an instinctive knowledge of when people are lying, he travels to assist other countries catch criminals. The book is fast-paced and action packed, but sometimes I got a bit lost with the story jumping from one location to the next. In the end it all tied well together, but I felt it could do with a bit more editing.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm not above popcorn style spy/thriller novels. I understand that sometimes, you just need a James Bond-type to fly around the world, being invincible and solving puzzles that apparently no one else is capable of solving. At least, that's how Matt Christopher, ex-FBI agent and current international man of mystery (no offense, Austin Powers) strikes me.

When the book opens, we're at a base camp at Mt Everest, in a tent where a man and woman have just finished having sex. Matt makes his entrance, suffering from altitude sickness and jet lag. The man from the first chapter has an ice axe embedded in his skull and Matt sort of barges into the investigation, directing local law enforcement to do this or that. Then, he bids them farewell, and he's jetting off (first class, of course) to London.

OK, fine. We're to believe that Matt is now an independent contractor for the US government, because he can tell when people are lying or read a crime scene or a witness or anything else (he's described at one point as a tracker, which was a little confusing and weird). So he flies around the world, setting up meets and reviewing evidence and interviewing people - you know, the things that local law enforcement could probably do without him.

In London, he meets up with a friend who works for British intelligence, and they're hunting for a guy who slashes womens' throats - and all the victims have been members of Parliament. Naturally, Matt swoops in and figures out whodunnit. Then: he's off again.

We get more descriptions of how he's flying from one place to another. There was a lot of that in this book. I have to say that I don't care at all how characters get from point A to point B unless there's something significant about it. Is thee a bomb on the plane? Is the bus going to be hijacked? Does the car have a tracking device on it?

Stick Matt on a plane, send him somewhere, point him to a case. He figures out the bad guy, jets off. Repeat this for what seems to be a dozen times in this book. The bad guys are the type who are immediately identifiable to the reader and who like to confess. Except the beautiful, sexy Russian spy who kills someone close to Matt. She's all over the place, a superspy, just like him, skating just out of reach.

Until the end - the final scene in the book, which I'm going to spoil for you.












The Russian is found in a Thai tourist resort - just like Matt forecast with his spidey sense. She's meeting Matt's best friend (there's stuff earlier in the book where this guy is at the house where the woman Matt is close to is murdered; they are lifetime pals), and that friend meets her on the beach in the dunes to set her up for Matt, who comes up behind her and shoots her in the head. The two of them drag her into the dunes, and then? They're off to the bar, which is not terribly far away, to have a cold one and toast their friend. That just seems a little psychopathic to me.

There are a number of things that this book needs or needs to eject. It really and desperately needs an editor. There's no need to pile all of these escapades into the same book instead of just picking one or even three and fleshing those out. The good guy doesn't have to take down all the bad guys in a single book.

All the unnecessary travel stuff can also go. Most of them don't matter to the story and do nothing but serve as filler.

Within the first five pages, Matt says he had spent some time in a "hyperbolic chamber" to charge up his red blood cells because apparently flying to Kathmandu from Qatar to sale Everest was a spur of the moment thing. While this book may be a "hyperbolic chamber", it is a hyperbaric chamber that is used for the medical purpose Matt describes.

When in London, Matt decides to help his pal Charlie (of British intelligence) and it is described thusly: "It took a split second for Matt to agree to help, and Charlie knew that meant it would be in any way he could. That was his friend's Motus Operandi, his "M.O.""

Two things: people know what an MO is, and they don't need the Latin. Also, if you are going to use the Latin, it is "modus operandi" and it doesn't need to be capitalized.

I wasn't looking terribly closely at things after the first dozen chapters. I skimmed through much of the rest, seeing the pattern (Matt flies somewhere -> crime -> superdude solves it -> goodbye -> repeat), and skipping forward. At no point - even when Matt's been hit in the head and hauled off - is there ever a question that he will get out of the situation, and no indication that he's even perturbed or worried about it. There's no real tension here.

If you need something fast, don't mind what could be described as serials pushed together into a single book, and want an indestructible good guy (who does bad things, like kill people), take it for a ride.

Two out of five stars.

Thanks to JK Kelly and NetGalley for the review copy

The book was an interesting read that reminded me of an action-packed blockbuster movie. It merely wasn't for me as I thought more of the novel was to take place on Mount Everest, as indicated by the gorgeous cover. This did not happen and so my interest waned a little.

52% in and sadly had to DNF it. The cover and synopsis lured me to read this book. I wasn't very fond of main character Matt, but it didn't bother me that much as I thought I would like the plot. But unfortunately it didn't happen. I really gave it a go, but the plot felt very flat and very repetitive - flight, hotel, bar, fight, one night stand and so on. I really wanted to like this book, I read half of it and at this point I understood I don't really care how it ends. I'm really sorry.

This book was a thumbs down for me. Based on the description, it sounded promising, but as the story went on it fell flat. The characters were boring, the plot was choppy and dragged on, and it couldn't end fast enough. Would not recommend.

Everest, which I love? Murder & true crime, which I love? That’s The Export. It’ a deliciously dark mystery, that happens far from the comforts of 21st century life in a town. It’s in the sub-zero temperatures of the world’s highest peak, where death is a normal occurrence. However, the murder is out of the ordinary even in such a place. It seems like the mountain itself was angry with the victim.

The main character is an interesting point of view, with clear emotions that make him a compelling narrator. You can tell he is knowledgeable without the book having to repeat how smart he is constantly to you, in fact - the agent is completely out of his element. All he can do is try his best, and it’s equally scary to see how the mountain can even bring the strongest of us to their knees. I highly recommend this book, it’s a fun read while preying on fears of mystery and the wild.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher J K Kelly Consulting LLC for the ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it's fast-paced and action-packed. Although at first I wondered if it was just going to consist of a series of unconnected exploits, the strands that tie them altogether gradually become clear amongst the twists and turns of Matt Christopher's assignments.

Matt, codenamed The Export, is a highly-trained asset who, by an arrangement with the US Government, can only operate outside the USA. He is independently wealthy and has connections all over the world. His manager in Washington is Claire Dale of the FBI - his ex-lover but also a colleague from their training together. The Director of the National Intelligence Service is his aunt, Helene Coleman, and he's devoted to her. He travels in luxury, has numerous passports as well as FBI, CIA and diplomatic credentials. He yearns to spend some time on his 60ft luxury yacht but as soon as it seems possible he has to fly off to another crisis he's expected to solve. He know he doesn't have to work but he's good at it - problem-solving anything or anyone who may cause embarrassment to the USA.

On some rare downtime he's in Everest's base camp when one of the trekkers is murdered by an ice axe being embedded in his head. The girl he had spent the night with had disappeared but he works with the local crime investigators until it's his time to leave and, running into an old British friend at the airport, Charlie Chaste, working for MI5, he takes on an interagency assignment to find out if a highly-placed person and/or his son are responsible for murders of young women. Back in the States he's assigned a "baby-sitting" job - an American undersecretary with close connections to the White House is due to attend an environmental conference in Quebec City. Following other conferences he's suspected of leaving a trail of assaults and possible murder in his wake. He thinks he's untouchable and Matt needs to defuse anything before it starts. It doesn't end too well.

Wherever he goes Matt - sometimes through no fault of his own - leaves a trail of bodies and cover-ups. But someone is out to get him and he gradually pieces things together. Just coincidences, or something more sinister?
I liked the characters and relationships - Matt's a George Clooney look-a-like who has access to people in high places, weaponry and technology. He wants to re-kindle his love affair with Claire but they both know that can't happen for as long as they have their respective jobs.

Looking forward to #2.

Everest and murder what more is there to say. Wonderful combination that captures the reader from the first page.

The story has a good premise, but the characters were rather plain/boring/two-dimensional. The plot started out promisingly, but soon bogged down and barely moved at all.

A basic mystery/thriller - but the setting Everest basecamp is what makes the book interesting!
The characters were well-developed and I appreciated the climbing/adventure details. Would recommend for anyone who enjoys mysteries in unique atmospheres.

I downloaded this book because I thought it would have a cool Everest storyline, but that lasted only a few pages and I couldn’t get into the rest. The Everest chapter at the beginning was interesting, but my interest tapered off as I got further into the book. This may not have been the right book for me. I am more of a domestic thriller and non-fiction reader, rather than a spy/action reader.

I do think some edits need to be made in terms of excess detail and minor grammatical errors, but I think people who enjoy action and spy thrillers will enjoy this book. Matt Christopher is an interesting character, and in the parts I read, he went to some fascinating places.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the free advance copy.